Choose three of the following questions. Think about them, then write up a short paragraph for each and email it to the instructor. You do not need to do any research to find the answers; these are questions for you to think about.
Why does Mandarin have four tones while Cantonese has 6 (or 7 or 8 or 9 depending on how you look at them)?
Are tones an efficient way of determining meaning in a language?
Can someone who is tone deaf learn Chinese? What happens to a Chinese person who is tone deaf?
If you spoke Chinese without tones, would anyone be able to understand what you say?
Choose three of the following questions. Think about them, then write up a short paragraph for each and email it to the instructor. You do not need to do any research to find the answers; these are questions for you to think about.
Why does Mandarin have four tones while Cantonese has 6 (or 7 or 8 or 9 depending on how you look at them)?
Are tones an efficient way of determining meaning in a language?
Can someone who is tone deaf learn Chinese? What happens to a Chinese person who is tone deaf?
If you spoke Chinese without tones, would anyone be able to understand what you say?
back to the Tones Menu
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